Council to work with administration to enhance competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing sector

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke met today with the 24 members of the recently-appointed Manufacturing Council.

“Today’s meeting is an example of the
public-private partnership needed to restore our manufacturing sector
in the United States,” said Locke. “I look forward to working with the
members of the Council to present President Obama with solutions to
revitalize this critical sector, grow our economy and put Americans
back to work.

The Council advises the Secretary of Commerce on
matters relating to the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector,
and government policies and programs that affect U.S. manufacturers.
The Council’s new charter increased membership from 15 to 25 members
and now includes more diverse and expansive industry representation in
the manufacturing sector. The appointees represent a broad cross
section of the industry and include steel, supercomputer, solar panel,
medical device and superconductor manufacturers, both large and small.
Their products support a diverse range of industries such as the auto,
aerospace, apparel and energy efficiency sectors.

Key priorities for this Council include
supporting small- and medium manufacturing businesses, advanced
manufacturing practices, and global competitiveness issues.

Manufacturing is the key to economic
revitalization and the growth of U.S. jobs. The United States is the
world’s largest manufacturing economy, employing nearly 12 million
Americans in the production of $1.6 trillion in manufactured products,
representing 18 percent of the world’s manufactured goods.

The Obama administration is committed to
revitalizing the manufacturing sector. The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act included $100 billion in funding and loan guarantees
to support manufacturing in America, and the President’s National
Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports by 2015, commits
resources across the federal government to open markets and help U.S.
manufacturing and other companies reach the 95 percent of the world’s
consumers that live outside our borders.